I wouldn't drywall over the window. Take a look at the options for recycled brick, they may match better than you think.

I think it is awesome to give a piece of furniture a new life. It is sometimes a bit daunting to take a paint brush to a piece made from genuine old timber but if you are going to get many more years of life and enjoyment out of it I think it is better than dumping it. I believe it shows your love. jbof4 I started with a heat gun to remove most of the many layers of paint, (some are easier than others to strip this way). Then I used an orbital sander and sanded and sanded and sanded. You might also try liquid paint stripper although I find this very messy. I believe you can also get them professionally stripped. Good luck with the resurrection, go for it what have you got to lose.

Thank you, I'm in NZ. I haven't had much luck googling local sites, any sites local to you that would ship internationally, that you could refer me to?

If you think hitting the lamps could be an issue, just move them a bit and add some low accessories (opposite sides to pic below). It's better to have a bit larger lamps and with your ceiling height anything shorter would look skimpy and they don't overwhelm the bedside tables once you balance with something above the bed. Just a thought...if you accessorize your bedding with some soft colors, they will also help to compliment the glass and crystal. You could even change the hardware to a silver.